Baltimore, Maryland - Charm City, USA Baltimore is the principal city and port of entry of Maryland and is the 13th largest city in the US, with a metropolitan area population in excess of 2.5 million. More than 100,000 students live in the Baltimore metropolitan area. Baltimore was named for the first Lord Baltimore, George Calvert, who was granted a charter key by King Charles in 1632 to establish an English colony in the New World. The first settlement on the site was made in 1662, and the town of Baltimore was laid out in 1730. The city owes its existence to the natural, deep- water harbor formed where the Patapsco River empties into the mammoth Chesapeake Bay. From its 1730 founding to the present, Baltimore has been a vital shipbuilding center and one of the nation’s largest commercial ports. Baltimore is centrally located and is only 40 miles away from Washington D.C., 70 miles away from Philadelphia, and is about 180 miles away from the New York City. By Maryland’s MARC train it costs about $5 and takes less than an hour to reach Washington, D.C. and by Amtrak train it costs about $60 and takes about 2.5 hours to Reach New York City. You can also reach New York by Greyhound bus for $25-35 (about 4-hour trip). Baltimore–Washington International Airport is one of the biggest and busiest airports in the nation and is a hub for US Airways, Southwest and United Airlines. One can catch a direct flight from Baltimore to almost any major city in America. Three major interstate highways run through the Baltimore City: I-95 runs from north to south along the Atlantic coast, I-70 runs from east to west and I83 runs from Baltimore north to Pennsylvania. Baltimore’s Downtown is a unique architectural blend, where modern skyscrapers abut architectural masterpieces of the 19th and 20th century. Baltimore city is a patchwork of almost 200 neighborhoods, and many of them–such as Little Italy and Greektown—still bear the ethnic stamp of immigrants who began their steady stream into Baltimore when the city became one of the nation’s official points of entry. "Charm City" earns its nickname from renowned museums, top-notch performing arts, restaurants galore and historical sites that run the gamut from kitschy to courtly. Baltimore greater area is home to 23 colleges and universities, 15 art galleries, 21 museums, 10 theatres, the Baltimore Zoo, the National Aquarium, the Maryland Science Center, the Columbus Marine Science Center, the world-renowned Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and the Baltimore Opera Company, the Peabody Conservatory of Music, the Pimlico Race Course, the Baltimore Orioles and the 2001 Super Bowl winners, the Baltimore Ravens. Baltimore is also well-known for the abundance of seafood and variety of ethnic restaurants as well as its rich nightlife. In fact some parts of the city like Fells Point, Inner Harbor, Canton and Federal Hill specialize in satisfying one’s craving for food, music and dancing. The 14 blocks of Fells Point alone hold over 50 restaurants, clubs, bars, pubs and taverns. Most bars in the city feature special Happy Hour prices on selected days. Our students on Thursdays often enjoy $1.25 draft beer at Gin Mills and 7$ Pitchers of Margaritas on the deck of Little Havana bar and restaurant. For more information on night life in the Charm City please visit http://marylandnightlife.com and http://www.powerplantlive.com. Last year Baltimore was visited by more than 15 million tourists that spent almost 3.5 billion dollars. Baltimore boasts a very good public transportation system, which includes a MARC train, a Metro, two light rail lines and over 70 local, express, and commuter bus lines. http://www.mtamaryland.com. If a student chooses to use public transportation, Johns Hopkins University partially subsidizes the cost. The 15.5 mile, 14 station Metro Subway system is one of the most modern in the world. It operates every 8 minutes during rush hour, every 10 minutes during the day and every 15-20 minutes during evenings and on weekends. The Light Rail operates at 9 to17-minute intervals. The MARC train is the most convenient way to travel between Baltimore and Washington. Today, Baltimore has a new image with state-of-the-art baseball and football stadiums at Camden Yards, office and apartment towers, a multimillion dollar, 1,200,000-square- feet convention center, numerous new hotels, cultural attractions, restaurants, concert pavilions, ships and marinas. As the industrial base has shifted out of the city, the city’s new attractions and facilities are bringing in ever increasing number of tourists and convention goers. Baltimore is currently enjoying an extensive growth, a second renaissance, with more than $1 billion in new development planned. Links: http://www.baltimore1.com/index.html http://home.digitalcity.com/baltimore/visitorsguide/ http://www.baltimore.org http://www.colltown.org Must see and do in Baltimore: Whether you're seeking to give visitors a taste of the "real Baltimore," spending a year or two in the city or settling in for the long haul, Baltimore offers a wealth of cultural possibilities. Much of Baltimore's charm comes from its variety of neighborhoods, each of them offering something different for the entertainment seeker. Fell's Point features venues for theatre and poetry readings. Downtown and the Harbor are dotted with museums and galleries. Canton offers lots of night spots. And Charles Village boasts two fabulous places to get your movie-fix-the Charles Theatre and Video American. You won't find everything in one place, but you should soon discover that one of the perverse delights of Baltimore living is the challenge of uncovering the cultural gems hidden throughout the city. Attractions The National Aquarium is Maryland’s #1 tourist attraction. The five-level structure houses over 14,000 marine and freshwater animals, a 220,000 gallon Open Ocean Tank with sharks and large game fish, a South American Rain Forest, and an Atlantic Coral Reef. Connected by a skywalk is a Marine Mammal Pavilion, which features a 1.2 million gallon pool inside a 1300 seat amphitheatre for viewing Beluga Whales and Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins. Surrounding the pool is the world’s largest acrylic window and two video walls. The Power Plant is an old Baltimore Gas and Electric Company steam- powered generating plant. Currently there are plans to bring in some new attractions. More updates as they become available. The Star-Spangled Banner Flag House and 1812 Museum was built in 1793 and was the home of Mary Young Pickersgill, who made the 30x42 foot, 15-star, 15-stripe flag that flew over Fort McHenry during the British bombardment on September 13-14, 1814 and inspired a Maryland lawyer, Francis Scott Key, to write the Star-Spangled Banner. Fort McHenry National Monument & Historic Shrine is open to public and hosts thousand of visitors a year. The Great Blacks in Wax Museum is America’s first and only museum of African-American history and culture. It houses over 100 life-size, lifelike wax figures in dramatic historical scenes. Boordy Vineyards was established in 1945 and is Maryland’s oldest and largest winery. Individual visitors and tour groups can sample wines and tour the facility. Boordy also hosts a number of small concerts and get-togethers throughout the year. Rows of carefully tended vines, a cluster of charming 19th century farm buildings and shaded picnic grounds await the visitor. For more information please visit http://www.boordy.com. The Maryland Science Center, Davis Planetarium and IMAX Theater captivate all ages with three levels of exciting hands-on exhibits and its national visitors center for the Hubble space telescope. The IMAX 3D theater screen is four stories tall and 57 feet wide, and gives you an incredible visual presentation. The Washington Monument was the first monument built to George Washington in 1842. It was designed by Robert Mills. A statue of George Washington stands atop the 178-foot-high column with inside stairs to the top. The statue oversees the historic Mt.Vernon neighborhood. (see the picture in the description of the Mt. Vernon neighborhood). Baltimore Maritime Museum is anything but a museum. It consists of a Seven Foot Knoll Lighthouse and four separate ships that you can board, including the submarine Torsk, the lightship Chesapeake, USS Constellation, and the US Coast Guard Cutter Taney. Each ship in the fleet is a veteran. The Submarine Torsk sank the last enemy vessel of WWII and holds a record of 11,884 dives, the most of any US submarine. The US Coast Guard Taney is the only warship still afloat that saw the action during the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. It was the only vessel that actually engaged the incoming Japanese plains. The USS Constellation is the last Civil War vessel afloat. This 1,400-ton, 179-foot sailing sloop was built in 1854. The US lightship Chesapeake guided mariners to safe harbor for over 29 years. The seven-foot Knoll Lighthouse was built in 1856 and is the oldest screw pile lighthouse in Maryland. It served Baltimore’s Harbor for over 133 years. The Basilica of the Assumption was built in 1821. It was the first Roman Catholic cathedral in the US. Pope Pius XI honored this cathedral with the rank of basilica in 1937. The Basilica of the Assumption was visited by His Holiness Pope John Paul II on October 8, 1995 and by Mother Teresa of Calcutta on May 29, 1996. Sherwood Gardens is the place to be in mid-May to enjoy an extravaganza of color in over 5000 azaleas and 100,000 tulips.